Martin Seligman Quotes - Page 3

Pleasure is the least consequential... engagement and meaning are much more important.

Ten years ago, when I was on an airplane and I introduced myself to my seatmate, and told them [I was a psychologist], they'd move away from me. ... And now when I tell people what I do, they move toward me.

The optimistic style of explaining good events is the opposite of that used for bad events: It's internal rather than external.

I'm trying to broaden the scope of positive psychology well beyond the smiley face. Happiness is just one-fifth of what human beings choose to do.

To the scientists of the Renaissance, your critic was really your ally, helping you advance upon reality. Critics in science are not like drama critics, determining flops and successes. Criticism to scientists is just another means of finding out whether they're wrong, like running another experiment to see if it confirms or refutes a theory. Along with the advocacy principle of the courtroom, It is one of the best ways human beings have evolved to get closer to the truth.

What determines how much time and deliberate practice a child is willing to devote to achievement? Nothing less than her character.

Finding temporary and specific causes for misfortune is the art of hope: Temporary causes limit helplessness in time, and specific causes limit helplessness to the original situation.

Some find that very optimistic people have benign illusions about themselves. These people may think they have more control, or more skill, than they actually do. Others have found that optimistic people have a good handle on reality. The jury is still out.

Positive, optimistic sales people sell more than pessimistic sales people.

There are physical characteristics which are inherited. These include things like good looks, high intelligence, physical coordination. These attributes contribute to success in life, and success in life is a determinant of optimism.

Finding permanent and universal causes for misfortune is the practice of despair.

The drive to resist compulsion is more important in wild animals than sex, food, or water... The drive for competence or to resist compulsion is a drive to avoid helplessness.

If we just wanted positive emotions, our species would have died out a long time ago.

On the other hand, permanent causes produce helplessness far into the future, and universal causes spread helplessness through all your endeavors.

I believe that traditional wisdom is incomplete.